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Fireplace Repair

04-14-2011, 08:04 PM

I use my fireplace a lot during the winter, really enjoy a big, hot, roaring fire.
A few of the grout lines needed repointing and I went to Home Depot to see if I could find an appropriate mortar. An associate there assured me that "high temperature Furnace cement" would be best. Well, two days later and one small fire it all cracked and shrunk! The right product is "Refractory" cement. Folks at HD were very nice in taking back the wrong product and helping me find a local masonary supply. I now have what I hope is the right stuff. I just wanted to give a heads up to anyone needing to repair their fireplace. Be sure to use the right product. Frank

Comment

My first thought and guess after reading your description is that maybe there wasn't enough time for the mortar to cure, thus causing it to shrink and crack when exposed to heat.

Reasonable assumption, but after doing a google search I found out this is a common mistake. Home Depot associates sometimes advise folks to use the wrong product. The refractory plus product I picked up says it will not shrink or crack. They do recommend a staggered heating of the product, so I will wait a day or so to allow for initial curing then build a small fire, follwed by progressively larger ones.